Learning to Love the Long Process
I love self-improvement and self-growth.
In my opinion, one of the beauties of life and human existence is that we are constantly changing, and opportunities to change for the better are numerous and seemingly never-ending.
After a very painful and severe mental health episode 2 years ago, I deliberately took time off from the demands of regular life, to focus on me.
One of the many hobbies I took up in the pursuit of personal growth was yoga and it was only a short period of time before I had decided that I was going to practice yoga daily, following a month long program that I had found on YouTube.
Rolling out my yoga mat and showing up each day was such a blessing, even when it was hard to get on that mat. There were some days when I really couldn't be bothered doing the day's session, and getting myself to the mat was a huge inconvenient chore. But after having successfully completed each day's yoga session for the entirety of the month, I was a changed woman.
I was happier, calmer, more joyous, more stable and I felt that I had been transformed from the inside out. I felt rejuvenated and I had reaped the rewards from my consistent efforts.
Having earned and enjoyed the benefits from committing to that journey the first time, I attempted to take on this endeavour again a few months later.
Only this time, I could barely make it past the first week before I gave in to my lack of motivation.
And now, as I'm nearing the end of my 2 year break before I officially start the next phase of my life, I attempted again to undergo this yogic transformation. But I didn't even last 2 days.
I couldn't commit.
I was so bummed out and mad about myself about it. I really wanted to experience the results that I experienced the first time around and I didn't understand why I couldn't commit.
I wanted to commit.
But then I realised that if I wanted to achieve my goal, not only would I have to be committed to the goal but I'd also have to be committed to the journey.
Committing to the journey is different than committing to the goal. It’s harder, because the day to day life of being committed is often tedious and repetitive. It doesn't have the same glamour that finally accomplishing that ambition has.
And when you’ve also committed to the journey and achieve the goal, you tend to remember the sweet feeling of fulfillment and achievement, and forget the day to day work of sticking your nose to the ground and showing up -- especially when you didn't feel like it.
So when I set out twice to redo the month long yoga program, all I could remember was how great the end results were. Not that I had befriended the difficulties of commitment, in order to achieve that end result.
Consistently putting in effort over a significant period of time is the key to achieving any goal you may have, whether it be professional or personal. While keeping in mind your end goal is helpful, learning to love the long process is essential.
I now understand that to be committed to achieving a goal, you have to love the unglamorous process infinitely more than the glamorous result.
Ultimately, focusing on the journey was what helped me to commit and eventually achieve that end result that I was proud of.
I'll admit that I still struggle sometimes with my relationship to commitment, but that's okay.
Sometimes you just have to recommit yourself to commitment. Remember that it’s because you focused on showing up and consistently working at your goal even when it was difficult, that you were able to achieve a previous goal.
For that reason, learning how to love the long process of achieving a goal is immensely powerful.
By: Ella Capek
I’m a British-Israeli in my early 20’s who’s beginning her studies to become a music therapist. On the side, I write on my blog Wide-Eyed Wanderer, where I’ve been sharing my travel experiences for 3 years. My hope is to continue doing everything that I love in the realms of music, writing & travel, while also consuming as much green tea and brownies as possible.
